It is a privilege…

I have been studying and preaching on initiation for about two years now. It intrigues me that just about every society in the world has had some sort of initiation or “Rite of passage” for their young men to enter manhood except America. We are having a very hard time recruiting young men for the mission field, finding young warriors that want to establish the kingdom of God through out the earth; they are out there, but very hard to find. (Our world race group that just started has 4 guys and 20 some women. Thank you God for the ladies, but come on men of God)

Living here in Africa you certainly see the effects on a people group or society when these initiation rites have been abandoned. Young men that have no direction, no hope, no reason for living… I am not sure how you establish initiation for the young men in America or how we reestablish it back into people groups that have lost it, but we must start some where.

This is Andrew Shearman last week praying for my son Tyler; he turned 16 this month and we wanted to make it very clear to him about who he is and why he exists. As days of old, we wanted to pray a blessing over him and establish very clearly in his heart that he is a man of God, a protector, affectionate warrior, a man of peace, but a man that will fight for his family and his God. Andrew prayed an amazing prayer of generational blessing and empowerment. Men that Tyler considers his spiritual fathers; Tom Davis, Seth Barnes, Brett Irwin spoke truth about who Tyler is and how they accepted him as one of the men that “Sits at the table” with the rest of us. Then the ladies gathered around my son and released him into the Fathers will and asked God to keep and protect his future bride and children. It was powerful and a start.

We must continue to ask God for revelation of how to establish, admonish and release the next generation. It is our duty as fathers and mothers and it is our privilege.